Alamo Heights' Shelby Lane (34) can only look away as Boerne Champion's David Rogers (left) reacts with teammate Dallas Quick (right) after Quick managed a put back against Alamo Heights for a score in Class 4A

Boerne Champion reserve Tripp Melcher did the last thing anyone wants to do in a rivalry game late in the first half: he air-balled a 3-pointer.

The Alamo Heights student section made sure he didn't forget, heckling him through the following timeout.

“It was on my mind most of the night,” Melcher said.

But he made up for it by nailing two free throws in the final minute to seal Champion's 53-47 third-round victory over Alamo Heights on Wednesday at Littleton Gymnasium.

“So many things were going through my head, I just tried to take a deep breath and collect myself,” the junior said. “Thank God I knocked them down.”

Melcher wasn't the only role player to step up for the Chargers (34-5), who will face Victoria East in the regional semifinals. Star guard Madison Turner poured in a typical 18 points, but he had plenty of help.

Senior point guard Matt McKinney, who averages 5.8 points per game, made four first-half 3-pointers, including the first basket of the game to give Champion a lead it would never relinquish. He finished with 14 points.

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“That was huge,” said senior Connor Czar, who had four points and a big assist in the fourth quarter. “Our role players stepped up.”

Champion led by as much as 11 in the second quarter, but the Mules (31-5) cut it down to three with a late 7-2 run to close the first half.

The teams kept it close throughout the second half, and Heights finally got within a point when Clay Boggess hit a 3-pointer with 4:30 left in the game. But missing three late free throws hurt the Mules' comeback chances.

The Chargers made theirs, with Melcher and Turner each sinking a pair in the last minute.

“They stepped to the line, made them. We stepped to the line and didn't,” Alamo Heights coach Charlie Boggess said. “It's pretty cut and dry.”

The win also gives the Chargers bragging rights. Even though the school's name may be new, Champion coach Stan Leech has battled Boggess countless times over the years. But only once had the coaches met in the playoffs, a 72-50 Boerne win in the 1990 regional final.

“It's great to continue history and be a part of this,” Turner said. “It's the greatest feeling so far.”